


AU!Septiplier: Lighter Fluid

by KingOfHearts709



Category: Septiplier - Fandom, jacksepticeye, markiplier - Fandom
Genre: Abuse, Anger, Arguing, College, Comfort, Crying, Dependence - Freeform, Drinking, Feelings, Fighting, Help, M/M, Smoking, Smut, Violence, Vulnerability, Worry, lighters, lying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-04
Updated: 2016-12-04
Packaged: 2018-09-06 10:12:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 12
Words: 14,038
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8746183
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KingOfHearts709/pseuds/KingOfHearts709
Summary: The lighter fluid never ran out. So neither will pain.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay! This is my next big fanfiction!  
> It greatly resembles my Safety, Jealousy, Pain story, but with Mark as the centre of attention.  
> I will definitely warn you in two different chapters about smut and violence (which there isn't much of, really).  
> For now, though, I hope you enjoy Mark's journey into the next part of his life. xoxo

Mark wasn’t nice. In fact, he was probably what someone would use as an example of an asshole. He smoked, he drank, he got into fights constantly. He was unsociable and unpleasable. With a wavy head of hair, glasses, and silent disposition, he seemed the approachable type. Yet any real friend he was capable of having never stayed constant.  
His only friend, he always found, was an old lighter that didn’t seem to ever run out of fluid. His mom had found it and gave it to him a year ago, said it used to be his dad’s.  
If there was one thing he really cared about, it was that lighter.  
In fact, as he sat in one of his college classes, he was twiddling the lighter between his fingers in his right hand, tapping the desk with his other. Just waiting for class to be over was torture enough, his lack of interest making it even worse.  
“Anyone have any questions?” the professor asked. No hands raised, so he shrugged. “Alright, you know your project - I’m hoping - so class dismissed. Off you go.” As the class rose from their seats, someone tapped Mark on the shoulder.  
“Hey, where’re the loos in this place?” an Irish lisp spoke. “I’ve been usin’ the one at Starbucks for a week.” Mark stiffed up and turned to face the owner of the voice. It was a guy, a bit taller than him, with light brown hair that swept over his forehead. A pair of glasses framed a concerned pair of blue eyes. “Hello? Earth to you, are you okay?” The guy chuckled.  
“Sorry...,” Mark finally said, shaking his head. “What... What d’you want?”  
“Where’re the loos?” Mark furrowed his brows.  
“What the hell is a loo?”  
“Oh, I...guess you call ‘em restrooms.” Mark paused for a moment, trying to assess the situation. This guy, this really cute- No, really weird Irish guy was asking him where the bathrooms were in the building. For...what?  
“They’re to your right outside the door.” The guy looked to the door and laughed.  
“Guess I missed ‘em, didn’t I?” He laughed again, full of energy.  
“Guess you did,” Mark replied, exasperated as he picked up his shoulder bag and moved to walk away. The guy stayed on his tail before walking next to him.  
“What’s your name?” he asked. “I don’t know too many people here yet. I’m Sean, but a lot of people call me Jack back in Ireland. That’s where I’m from. Where are you from?” Mark didn’t even notice the guy was talking to him until he paused in his rant.  
“Are you talking to me?” Mark asked, looking a bit up at the guy. He hated how much shorter he was than him.  
“‘Course I am! No one else is here.” Mark really just wanted to tell him to fuck off somewhere else and find someone else to talk to, but he found that his rudeness had run out for the day.  
“I wasn’t listening, what’re you talking about?” Mark ended up asking.  
“I asked you what your name was.”  
“Mark.”  
“Mark what?”  
“Just...Mark- Look, I got to get back to my room, so if we could drop this here, that’d be nice.” Mark tried walking away again, but was stopped when a book flew in front of him.  
“Sorry, sorry, I’m real clumsy,” the Irish guy claimed. “You mind?”  
“I do mind, you’re bugging me.”  
“I meant my book.” He looked at the fallen textbook at his feet, where the guy laughed as Mark picked it up slowly and handed it back. “Thanks.”  
“Okay, well... Bye.” Mark began to walk away again, but the Irishman kept following him. Why did he keep following him?  
“How’re you doing on the project?” he asked.  
“What project?” Mark sighed in response, getting tired of trying to ignore him.  
“The one for tech.”  
“I don’t know.”  
“You haven’t started?”  
“Obviously not.”  
“Hey, maybe we can meet up and I’ll bring you round what we’re supposed to do. Or, maybe w-”  
“Look...whoever you are, Irish dude.” Mark stopped and turned fully towards him. “I don’t really care, y’know, about hanging out with you. Y’know, I don’t want to be friends with you, and you definitely don’t want to be friends with me, alright? So, how ‘bout we put this thing to bed and just drop it, okay?” The guy stood there, bewildered for a few long moments, and Mark almost just walked away for a third time until he spoke.  
“I never said I didn’t want to be friends,” he pointed out. Mark paused for a moment.  
“...What?”  
“We can be friends, can’t we? I don’t know anyone here yet except my dormmate.”  
“Well, that’s how it’s going to stay-”  
“Well, that’s not really fair, now, is it? Shouldn’t we try to be friends?” Mark opened his mouth. “Right?” God, those stupid, hopeful eyes just pissed him off. He saw the same thing in his mother before he left for college.  
“You’ll stay safe, won’t you?” she had said.  
“Yeah, mom,” Mark had replied wearily.  
“Promise?” He had looked up at her then to see that same look, that same wide-eyed, hopeful look that he now saw in this new Irish student from his tech class.  
“Promise,” he found himself saying in front of the student, not even noticing he had spoken until the guy grinned wide.  
“Okay, you promised,” he stated. “How ‘bout I write down my dorm room number? You can come by whenever you want.”  
“What?” Mark replied to the sudden statement, blinking once, then twice. “Oh, right, right, yeah- Sure, whatever.” Mark sighed and watched as the guy wrote something down on a piece of paper, then handed it to him.  
“Come by whenever!” he said, then turned to walk the other way. Mark looked down at the piece of paper, reading the words over a few times.  
“Dorm #23, B building,” it read. “See you soon! -Jack xoxo.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Come visit.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next! xoxo

Mark wasn’t quite sure what lead him there, but he was standing outside of the 23rd dorm room of the B building, hesitating every time his fist came up to knock on the door. He must’ve been standing out there for ten minutes now, and still he was afraid to just knock on the door.  
His right hand was gripped tight on the lighter, his left hand reaching into his pocket for the piece of paper, checking for the sixth time that he was outside of the right dorm room in the right building. Was he even in the right building? Did he even really want to go inside and talk to whoever this guy was?  
As he was contemplating various scenarios in his head, the door opened and someone that was not the Irishman stepped out. Someone with an afro-like head of brown hair and big, brown eyes that looked like his own.  
“Woah, hey,” he said. American, even. “You alright, man?”  
“Uh, yeah, must have the wrong room,” Mark muttered looking at the paper, then at the room number, sighing when he knew it matched perfectly regardless.  
“Oh, are you Mark?” Mark looked back up at the mention of his name. “Jack’s inside, go on ahead.” The guy squeezed past him and Mark looked ahead to see Jack just then looking up, smiling when he saw him.  
“Hey, Mark!” Jack smiled, ushering him inside. “Come on in, I was just puttin’ some books away.” Mark stepped inside, still holding the paper in his hand, pressing the lighter back into his pocket. “You can go ahead and close the door.” Mark reached behind him and gave the door a nudge, letting it close on its own.  
“Hey,” Mark said half-heartedly, looking around the room. He hadn’t yet been in someone else’s room this year, as he purposely avoided doing so. He was never in the mood to visit other people.  
“What’ve you been up to?” Jack asked.  
“Nothing...much,” Mark replied tentatively. He was really pissed at himself right now. For whatever reason, he wasn’t acting like himself. Being alone in the presence of someone else that wasn’t his own dormmate put him on edge. Made him hold back.  
No. He was not going to act like some stupid-ass priss right now. He was a punk, not some button-up, pansy prick like he always called him. He was an asshole now, and he was going to stay an asshole. That’s what he wa told.  
Mark rubbed his eyes and relaxed fully when his initial nerves subsided.  
“Look,” he began, “I got shit to do, so if you don’t have any pot or somethin’, I’m going to bail.”  
“Oh, I’m sure Dan’s got some in his bag,” Jack pointed out casually, nodding to the other side of the room as he searched through his own backpack. “He gets stuff all the time, he says, so I think you’ll be fine takin’ some.” Mark seemed practically dumbfounded. Jack...seemed fine letting him do whatever he pleased.  
“Really?” Mark asked, looking at Jack. Jack looked up for a moment, nodded like it was obvious, and continued his intense hunt for whatever he was looking for in his bag.  
Mark, tentatively, searched through what looked like Dan’s bag, pulling out a small, white container that held carefully measured bags of weed, enough for maybe two joints. Mark took one and stuffed it into his pocket.  
“Help yourself to somethin’ in the fridge if you want,” Jack added suddenly, holding a phone in his hand and scrolling through something.  
“Yeah, whatever,” Mark grunted. “I just can’t get any until,” he paused to think, “Friday, so I have to mooch for a couple days.”  
“Sure. Here.” Jack held out his phone to Mark, who simply stared.  
“...What?” Jack urged the phone into Mark’s hands, and Mark held it up to his ear, expecting a voice.  
“No, put your number in my phone, dummy!” Jack laughed at Mark’s confusion, and Mark immediately blurted out the first thing he could think of.  
“I don’t have a phone.”  
“Really? I thought you had one during tech class. Calculator, I guess-” Mark shook his head, seriously hating himself.  
“No, I mean... I have to pay my bill soon, I’m out of data right now.”  
“Well, put your number in anyways. When you pay it, I’ll have texted you already. It’d show up, right?”  
“I guess.”  
“Great. Also, I was thinking if you wanted, there’s this party down at the other building’s theatre, I think it’s C. Anyways, I was going to head down there if you wanted to come. It’ll be my first one.” God, he talked too fast.  
“Slower, in English,” Mark said, holding up his hands.  
“Party in C building. I’ll walk you down if you want to come. If not, you’re free to just hang out here, or go back to your own room. Whatever you want.” Honestly, who was this dude? He had a complete sense of adaptation and carelessness. He didn’t even question how annoyed Mark had gotten at him earlier that day. It was almost as if negativity wasn’t in his vocabulary.  
And that held Mark back even more.  
“I... Okay,” Mark said slowly, nodding.  
And like that, he was following Jack out the door and towards the front doors of the B building, all the way to the C building where loud music could be heard once they stopped outside.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oops.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next one! xoxo

Going to the party was probably the worst thing Mark had agreed to thus far in college. A sophomore, sure, but still, not a lot had happened his freshman year. Actually, to be honest, he didn’t really remember much of the previous year. It was all a blur of smoking and cheating. Specifically people cheating on him because he wasn’t ‘present enough.’  
Mark had gone home early respectively, and rather rudely, too.  
“Where’re you goin’?” Jack asked. “Party’s only just started.”  
“I’m not staying at the this stupid fuckin’ party,” Mark grumbled, adjusting his jacket.  
“It’s not stupid if you just try to have fun, Mark. I mean, haven’t you ever been to a party before?”  
“No, and I’m not staying at this one.” Mark threw his empty plastic beer cup across the room, craving something much stronger than cheap alcohol. Jack, on the other hand, had already had three consecutive cups and was getting a thicker Irish accent by the minute.  
“C’mon, Mark, just stay a bit longer,” Jack pleaded. “It’s fun, and plus, we haven’t even talked all that-”  
“What in the hell made you think that I wanted to talk to you, anyways?” Jack blinked a few times, staring.  
“Well... I thought that maybe...we’d have fun here.” Jack gave out a nervous chuckle when Mark’s frown soured even more.  
“Goodbye, Jack,” Mark said, pushing past multiple people and out the front door of the building, where he speed-walked all the way back to the B building, all the way to his hall until he reached his dorm room and was greeted with the sweet stench of smoke.  
“What’s your deal?” a voice asked.  
“Fuckin’ party,” Mark sighed, lying down on his bed.  
“You don’t go to parties, though.” Mark looked to the side as his dormmate, Barry, rolled his eyes. He was dressed in a wrinkled button-up, his hair a disheveled mess and his beard in desperate need of trimming. Nevertheless, despite his carelessness, he looked presentable.  
“I was dragged there by an outside source.”  
“Whose name is...”  
“Jack, or whatever. That’s what he says what he goes by.” Barry hummed, leaning over to open the window so fresh air could come in and smoke could escape.  
“McLoughlin?” Barry said.  
“I don’t know, why?”  
“‘Cause Dan said he got a roommate named Jack this year.” Mark furrowed his brows.  
“Is that the guy you met over summer?”  
“The very same.” Apparently, Mark wasn’t as good at piecing together information as he thought he was. Maybe everyone was right and too many brain cells were getting killed off what with all the shit he did.  
“You going to see him again?” Barry asked after a few moments. Mark sighed.  
“I don’t know,” Mark decided, “and I don’t really fucking care either.” Barry stubbed out whatever he was smoking in a nearby ashtray and looked Mark over.  
“I don’t know, he seems nice.”  
“Have you met me? I don’t do fuckin’ nice.”  
“I know. You do angry and bitter, I know.” Mark closed his eyes, hands fiddling over the lighter on his pocket.  
“I’m just tired, man.”  
“Of what?”  
“Of nothing.” Barry laughed at him.  
“Maybe you should’ve stayed at that party. It sounds like you need more action rather than less.” Mark groaned loudly and turned away, making Barry laugh. “Don’t do that, it makes you look like a child.”  
“Whatever,” Mark muttered. He felt so fucking tired and bitter right then that if Barry said another word, he’d punch him. Luckily for Barry, he ignored him the rest of the night. Mark simply took the time to scroll through his phone, finding a few texts sent to him from an unknown number.  
“Hey, it’s Jack, text me back when you can!”  
“Hope you feel better mate, lets hang out soon.”  
“Duude this party is rookin i wish u stayed.”  
“Dannn says i shud ask u out like wttf hahaa.”  
“heyyyy i jusst wanted to saye ur rly cute ok feeel bettre il see u tmrww.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Apologise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo, next! xoxo

The texts from Jack lingered on Mark’s mind, seeing as how Jack must’ve drank enough to text him random bull without knowing. Even if Mark did lie about his phone being unpaid, he was surprised that Jack had forgotten, and even more surprised that his friend Dan told Jack to send all of that in the first place.  
As he walked into tech class and took his seat, Jack sat right next to him.  
“Hey, Mark,” he said, rubbing his eyes. “What’s up?”  
“Nothing,” Mark replied quietly, trying his best not to look anywhere but at his desk.  
“Hey, so, I don’t know if you paid your bill yet, but I checked and it looks like I sent you some weird stuff when I was at the party. I got pretty smashed pretty fast.”  
“Mmhm,” Mark hummed. The desk wasn’t good enough. He pulled out the lighter and fumbled with it. “I got them,” he said finally.  
“Oh, you did?” Jack laughed. “That last one Dan made me send. I didn’t really remember doin’ it until I woke up this morning.” Jack laughed again and Mark shut his eyes.  
“Can we just not talk?” Mark suggested suddenly.  
“What, why?” Jack replied, confused.  
“Just... Let’s just not talk. Ever. Okay?” Jack hummed and looked forward. Not talking. The class started shortly after, Jack taking notes, Mark half-listening, half-thinking.  
Stupid, you can’t do that, can you, now?  
Don’t even think about it.  
There’s no room for something like that, you know that.  
Class was dismissed a bit early, and Jack eyed Mark out of the corner of his eye. Mark looked over at him, catching him glancing over.  
“What?” Mark asked harshly. Jack pointed to his mouth, asking silently to speak, and Mark rolled his eyes and nodded.  
“I just want to make sure that you’re not feelin’ odd about that text,” Jack said as he picked up his bag. “Honest, Dan wanted me to send it, and, y’know, while it’s a little true, I mean-”  
“A little true?” Mark repeated.  
“Well, I mean, me bein’ sober, I’d tell you all that to your face if I really meant it, you know? I mean, Dan thinks I should ask you out, and I do think you’re a bit cute, but, you know, we don’t know much about each other, so unless you want to get to know one another, then-”  
“I don’t.” Jack nodded in the middle of talking, motioning to Mark, hesitating for a few moments.  
“Right, so that’s that and that’s fine.” Jack grinned. “I’m alright with it, and even though...I’d like to get to know you, I think you should want to get to know me, too. But since you don’t, I’ll just leave you be. Alright?”  
“Yeah, whatever. Thanks.” Jack nodded, turning a little slower than he seemed like he usually would, and walked away, hanging his head just a bit. Mark watched him walk out of the room, meeting up with a few people he didn’t know and disappearing behind a corner. Mark rolled his eyes, ignoring his regret, and walked the opposite way Jack had gone, leaving the building to find something distracting enough to occupy him until nighttime.  
When Mark did finally get back to his dorm room, Barry and a slightly familiar face was waiting for him.  
“Hey, Mark, this is Dan,” Barry introduced as Mark closed the door. Dan was a fro’d punk guy with a Rush t-shirt and stubble. Jack’s dormmate. He grinned and waved.  
“Hey, man, I know you,” Dan said as Mark sat down, rubbing his eyes.  
“Oh, yeah?” Mark sighed sarcastically, not quite enjoying the new company.  
“You know Jack, right?” Mark nodded, yawning.  
“Why?” Dan chuckled a little disappointedly at Mark.  
“I, uh... I think you really hurt his feelings today, man.” Mark yawned again.  
“Is that so?” he said, not really caring.  
“Yeah, actually. He came in, cryin’ a little. Said you didn’t want to get to know him at all. I guess you struck a nerve ‘cause he could barely talk through his crying anyways. You really fucked him up, man.” Mark had to physically refrain from calling Jack a pussy out loud. Mark never cried, and anyone who did cry was deemed a pussy, and Mark refused to be dumbed down to that. That was how he was taught to think.  
“What’s your point?” Mark ended up saying, lying down.  
“You have to talk to him,” Barry said. “I keep telling you that some people can’t be told stuff bluntly. People like Jack.”  
“So?”  
“Just apologise, Mark.” Mark looked between the two of them. He was completely outnumbred, and he knew if he didn’t do this, he’d probably get his ass kicked, or at least kicked out of the dorm.  
“Fine,” he muttered, pulling out his phone and ignoring Dan and Barry as he scrolled to send a text to someone.  
“Jack, it’s Mark. Need to tell you something tomorrow, be at your room around noon.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waiting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next! xoxo

Mark stood outside of Jack’s dorm room, fingers gracing over the lighter nervously, foot tapping impatiently. He knocked on the door once more. Maybe Jack was asleep and didn’t hear him.  
It was half past noon now. Mark finally just sat down with his back to the door in defeat. Even if he was hellbent on apologising just to get Barry off of his back, it didn’t make it easy when he couldn’t even find Jack to talk to him. It was probably the most unfair thing that could be happening to him right now.  
Well, not the most unfair thing, but his impatience made it one of the top five at the moment.  
After fifteen more minutes, he gave up. He stood from where he was sat and started to make the journey back to his dorm room. And of course, that’s when he saw Jack walking his way.  
And Jack only gave him a quick, sad glance before he walked away.  
Okay, that was it.  
At this point, it was time to drink.  
Mark was sat at the bar, downing drinks that came his way, blowing all his money he was supposed to be saving. This always fucking happened, didn’t it? He always fucked it up, then he came here, then he spent all his savings on his bullshit feelings. Every fucking time.  
An incredibly unfair circumstance.  
“Hey, one more,” he called. It was nearing ten now, and he’d been there for almost five hours.  
“No, not one more,” another voice said, and the bartender nodded in understanding. Mark furrowed his brow and looked to his left to see afro’d hair, stubble, and a disappointed expression. “C’mon, Mark, we’ve got to go.”  
“No, no...,” Mark slurred. “One- More, one more.”  
“Not one more, Mark, you’re way too drunk to make decisions right now.”  
“I am not!” he yelled, hitting the bar with the palms of his hands. “You don’t tell me what to do!” Dan hooked an arm around Mark’s shoulders and led him away from the stool, Mark struggling drunkenly.  
“He paid everything, right?” Dan asked the bartender.  
“A couple hundred for the rest of the night,” she replied. “Take care of him, and thanks for getting him. And come back to get the change, he overpaid big time.”  
“No problem.”  
“Fuck you!” Mark called as he was greeted with the fresh air and night sky.  
“Okay, let’s go,” Dan said, pushing him into the passenger’s seat of his car. Mark sighed in frustration and did as he was made to do, slouching and crossing his arms like a child. If only Barry were here to scold him.  
Dan started the car and pulled out of the lot, driving back to the college.  
“You alright?” Dan asked, and Mark huffed. “Want to talk about it?”  
“I hate people,” Mark said, sitting up a bit now that he was able to rant. “And ‘specially- ‘Specially Irish bitches who don’t give a fuck ‘bout me.”  
“Jack cares about you.”  
“He does not!” Mark yelled. “I waited for, like... Whatever time! And, like, I told him I was coming!” Mark threw his hands in the air as if to say, ‘You see what I mean?’ “He blew me off, y’know? I mean, like... What ‘n asshole.”  
“Maybe it was because you blew him off first.” Mark let out a snort of disbelief.  
“Oh, please, I was totally not blowin’ him,” he said, then laughed when he realised what he said. “Heh. Blowin’. I would so do that t’ him-”  
“Alright, let’s just be quiet,” Dan cut in, hands gripping at the wheel. Mark went to protest, but Dan shot him a glance that shut him up. Mark slumped down in his seat again, waiting the five minutes before Dan parked. He was then dragged all the way back up to his dorm room, and given to Barry for babysitting.  
“Holy shit, where was he?” Barry asked, looking Mark’s stumbling figure over.  
“The cheap bar,” Dan replied. “He paid double for the whole night.”  
“Oh, Jesus, Mark,” Barry sighed, watching as Mark fell face-first onto his bed, groaning. “What the hell did you do?” Mark mumbled something incoherent, instead flipping away from everything and facing the wall, where he went to fall asleep soundly.  
“I think he’s upset about Jack,” Dan explained after a couple minutes as he sat on Barry’s bed.  
“Really?” Barry asked.  
“Yeah, he was complaining about him on the way back here. Said that Jack blew him off. I guess he didn’t realise that he blew Jack off first.”  
“Heh. Blow.” Dan nudged him.  
“Damn, you too?” Barry shrugged. “I’ll talk to Jack. And you talk to Mark.”  
“God, who are we? Their parents?” Dan chuckled.  
“For now? Maybe.” Barry shook his head. “How long have you been friends with Mark?”  
“Honestly? A long time. Since the end of middle school.” Dan wrinkled his nose.  
“So...what ever happened to make him...like this?” Barry furrowed his brows.  
“Like...what?” Dan sighed.  
“C’mon, he wasn’t always like this, was he?” Barry shrugged.  
“I don’t know. He’s always been headstrong and risky. But...yeah, I guess you’re right. He used to be way more fun and happy. I guess... Well, he’d never admit that.”  
“What, that he hasn’t changed?”  
“No, that he has changed. The guy I went to school with before acted nothing like Mark. Then, when we came here, and after a bunch of shit in high school, he just shut off. It was really weird, I remember. I came to school one day during senior year and he had started to dress differently and act differently. He wouldn’t hang out at my house anymore, and I couldn’t ever go to his because he used to be busy.  
“But anyways, he came here and it was like everything shut off. He didn’t talk to me as much, even though before classes started, we talked all about hanging out and everything. It was like all of the sudden, he had all this free time again. I mean, he never used any of it for anything, really. Except maybe classes and smoking or drinking. And work, I guess. He’s never really told me where he works, I tried to find him. Besides selling weed, he doesn’t really get money from anywhere I know of.” Barry shook his head. “Jesus, sorry, I’m ranting...all about Mark and he is going to be so pissed if I told you any of this.” Dan held up a hand.  
“Hey, my lips are sealed,” he said. Barry smiled.  
“Seal ‘em here, then,” Barry chuckled, and kissed Dan chastely. As he did so, Mark’s phone went off and a message from a familiar name showed up.  
“Hey Mark,” it read. “I saw you outside of my dorm and i dunno if you were waiting for me but i do want to talk to you. My dorm, same time tomorrow?”


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Can't deal.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next one! Gettin' into it now. xoxo

Oh, the headache was always the worst thing when waking up.  
Mark groaned and covered his head with the blankets draped over him, then paused when he realised that he didn’t remember being brought home. Or brought anywhere, for that matter. All he did remember was angry yelling and drinking...  
Oh, God, he wasn’t back here, was he?  
He ceased all movement and closed his eyes, forcing himself to try and sleep again. He breathed quickly through his mouth and nose, then stopped, his eyes squeezed so tight that his head hurt even more.  
He was not back here. No, he was going to ever be back here.  
“Mark,” a voice, a loud voice, called. “Hey, get up.” Mark didn’t move, even though pain might come if he didn’t. His blankets were taken away from him and blazing sun attacked. “Mark, get up.”  
“I can’t,” he said to whoever was talking to him, his brain unable to piece together a voice and a face.  
“Why not? It’s just me, Mark.” Mark refused to look. “...Mark?”  
“I am not back here for this!” he yelled, hearing a step being taken away and something knocking over. A hand laid down on his shoulder and he flinched away from the touch.  
“Mark, it’s just Barry,” the voice assured. “Just...roll over, trust me.” Mark visibly froze up for a few moments before he did so and opened his eyes to see a very worried dormmate. He immediately relaxed, all fear he had been feeling vanishing when he realised he hadn’t been in danger in the first place.  
“Fuck me,” Mark sighed, hand going up to his head as his headache came back to remind him of the terrible night he’d endured. “I... When did I get here?”  
“Last night, Dan...brought you home.” It went silent for a moment. “Um... Mark, are you okay?”  
“Fine, as soon as I get aspirin and a shower. Do we have any?” Barry shook his head.  
“No, I’d have to go to the store.” Mark groaned.  
“Of fucking course.” He sighed. “I’ll bet I was an asshole last night.”  
“Not really. Just...loud and drunk.”  
“So an asshole.” Barry shrugged with a grin.  
“Yeah, more or less.” Mark let out a breath and sat up, pain radiating. What day was it, Friday? He’d be buying today, right? And work tomorrow, classes on Monday... No, wait, he’d spent all his money. Shit.  
“Fuck, I must’ve given that bar all my shit,” Mark said, realising his wallet was completely empty, as was his pillowcase. Barry tossed something at him.  
“It was in your jacket when you got back,” he explained. “It fell out when you passed out.” It was a bag, a bag of weed and just a bit of paper. Enough for one joint. “I thought you were out.” Mark breathed out and frowned a little.  
“I am,” he said. Barry paused.  
“Mark, if you stole that, you know you’re going to get your ass kicked-”  
“No, no, no, I didn’t steal.” Barry paused.  
“Then where’s it from?” Mark furrowed his brows and thought back.  
“I...think I got it from Jack,” he said, then snapped his fingers. “Oh, no, I got it from...Dan’s bag. Jack told me I could take some.” Barry nodded in realisation.  
“Y’know, I remember him saying he thought he dropped some yesterday while you were out. I’ll tell him you took it, he’s been all frantic.” Mark simply set it back in his pocket where the lighter was. “And, uh, Jack did text you last night.” Mark groaned.  
“Really? Snoopin’ in my phone?” Barry shook his head.  
“No, it just went off and I opened it and replied to it.” Mark threw a pillow at Barry before he went to unlock his phone and look through his texts.  
“Hey Mark. I saw you outside of my dorm and i dunno if you were waiting for me but i do want to talk to you. My dorm, same time tomorrow?”  
“Hey jack its barry um mark went out drinking so he might not make it then.”  
“Oh well can you tell him that i want to talk to him whenever he can?”  
“Yeah sure.”  
“Okay. Thanks Barry.”  
“Np.”  
Mark closed up his phone and glared at Barry.  
“...What?” Barry asked innocently.  
“Why couldn’t you just call him on your phone?” Mark asked. “The number is literally underneath the name.” Barry snapped his fingers sarcastically.  
“See?” Barry said. “I wouldn’t have had to do that if you didn’t treat him like shit when he was being nice to you.” Mark scoffed.  
“Oh, thanks, Barry, I feel so much better now,” he retorted, equally sarcastic.  
“Well, you should feel bad,” Barry began. “Look, I don’t know what the fuck happened to you, but you won’t tell me and you won’t tell anyone else. Whatever the hell happened to you turned you into an asshole, and I’m getting sick of it. Everyone is.” Mark widened his eyes. Was Barry actually...calling him out? Now?  
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Mark asked incredulously. “Nothing fuckin’ happened to me! You were there, you knew noth-”  
“Oh, yeah, I was there! But you never were. Mr. Busy for a year, then Mr. Available the next! I mean, something had to have happened!”  
“How fucking long ago are we going, Barry? You’re talkin’ over two years ago!”  
“Why the hell did you suddenly not have time, then have all the time in the fucking world, Mark? What the fuck changed you so quickly? Who the fuck hurt you?” With those words, Mark’s expression suddenly stopped. He had his mouth open to argue again, but now, nothing came out. “What, Mark, what...” Barry had been turned away for a moment, but now he turned to see the horror strike Mark’s eyes, and he then realised what his words had caused. “Mark, did... You didn’t...” Mark stood up and adjusted his jacket. He was still fully dressed from the night before.  
“I’m just...,” Mark said, shaking his head. “Bye.”  
“Mark, wait!” Barry said, blocking the door. Mark closed his eyes. “Mark, tell me what happened.” Mark shook his head. “Tell. Me.”  
“Why don’t you shut the fuck up?” Mark screamed at him. “Why don’t you shut the fuck up, get the fuck out of my way, and leave me the fuck alone? Why don’t you do that?”  
“Why don’t you tell me anything?” Barry yelled back.  
“Because I don’t want to fucking tell you about my bullshit life!” Mark screeched. Barry stopped there. “I am not in any mood to fucking tell you about my past or my problems! I don’t fucking care about telling you!” Barry stared. “Will you fucking move?” Barry stepped aside and let Mark out, the door slamming harshly as he left.  
He walked for a few moments when a couple of other students ran opposite his way towards his dorm room. Barry answered it and looked to be explaining to them that no one was hurt.  
Yeah.  
No one was hurt.  
No one but Mark.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this is the pre-smut chapter. But it's a good one. xoxo

Despite Mark’s previous plan of going to talk to Jack like he had planned the day before, he went to work. His coworkers were surprised to see him there on a Friday, and even more surprised when he said he’d close up for the night. It was just a coffee shop. Albeit a coffee shop that no one went to but those in the area, but it didn’t matter to Mark. He got paid and distracted, and that’s what counted then.  
Mark locked the front door as he stepped out, thinking about the time and whether or not he could get back into his dorm room without being noticed by Barry. He supposed he could stay outside of the dorm. With no blanket or pillows or even heating. He didn’t know much of anyone else. Except maybe Jack.  
But, well, based on today and yesterday, he wasn’t really in the mood to hang around him anyways.  
“Mark?” a voice called his way. A familiar Irish-lilting voice. Mark cursed under his breath. “I didn’t know you worked here.” Mark turned around to see Jack standing there with his hands in his jacket pockets, looking curiously at the building.  
“Yeah, well...,” Mark said tiredly. “Now you know. I guess.”  
“Hey, um... I don’t know if Barry told you, but I wanted to talk to you. He...kind of texted me on your phone.”  
“Yeah, yeah, I know.” Jack chuckled.  
“I didn’t know you worked on Fridays. Most people I know don’t, really.”  
“I don’t work on Fridays.” Jack raised his eyebrows in understanding.  
“So...how come you went to work today?” Mark ran a hand down his face. He really did not have the energy to tell Jack to go away, so he went along with whatever this encounter was.  
“I don’t know,” Mark sighed. “I’m just tired.” Jack shrugged.  
“Shame, then. I was wonderin’ if you had a bit of free time now.”  
“What, to hang out with you?”  
“Well, I mean... Since we’re both here, I guess we can...talk now.” Mark looked down for a moment, thinking. Seeing as Barry was mad at him, and he had almost nothing else to do for the night, perhaps getting this out of the way would prove to be progress.  
“Yeah, alright, I guess,” Mark said finally. “Where did you have in mind?” Jack shrugged.  
“To be honest, I didn’t think ahead all that much.” Mark rolled his eyes, zipping up his jacket.  
“C’mon,” he said, walking towards the lot.  
“Where?” Mark turned around and simply beckoned Jack with him, to which he followed Mark all the way to a red car. “Is this yours?”  
“Yeah, we’ll just...,” Mark said, opening the driver’s side, “go for a ride.” Jack chuckled a bit.  
“You’re not going to murder me, are you?” Despite being tired, Mark laughed for a small moment.  
“No, just...c’mon.” Jack, albeit confused, sat down in the passenger’s side as Mark started the car. Neither bothering with seat belts, the car pulled out of the lot and started down the road.  
The ride was mostly silent, other than small talk about classes or sometimes changing the radio station. Jack was talking far more than Mark, and man, could he talk. One question seemed to send Jack into an entire book of responses. Even so, Mark still got a chance to say a few things.  
“Hey, you want to stop up here?” Mark asked as they approached a small resting area at a nearby beach.  
“Are we allowed?” Jack replied quietly. Mark simply laughed in response as he turned the car onto the dirt and stopped, turning off the engine and letting the radio play out. Mark sighed and leaned back in his seat, hand going from the wheel to his pocket where he realised he still had that bag of weed in his pocket along with the lighter. He pulled them both out and turned to his right.  
“Hey, you mind if-” he started, but Jack interrupted him.  
“Dude, are you seein’ this?” he asked, jumping out of the car and looking up. “The stars are awesome tonight!” Mark simply watched as Jack went to sit on the hood of the car and study the sky for a moment. “C’mon, it’s really cool.” Mark sighed and stepped out of the car, putting away the bag but keeping the lighter in his hand, fiddling around with it as he looked up.  
Jack was right. It was really cool. No clouds, no moon, and there seemed to be more stars out than usual. He knew that without the moon, stars were always brighter. It had been a long time since he’d just looked at the stars at night.  
“Yeah, it’s...,” Mark began, jumping to sit next to Jack. “It’s cool. Space is cool.”  
“Isn’t it, though?” Jack said. “It’s, like, this gigantic world out there. We’ve got no idea what’s way out there, do we? It’s all metaphorical and shit, I love it.” Mark moved so he was lying down on the windshield, and listened as Jack did the same. He closed his eyes and just relaxed for a moment. He hadn’t just relaxed in a long time, he realised. “Hey, can I ask a question?” Mark opened his eyes and looked over.  
“What?” he asked.  
“Where’d you get that lighter?” Mark looked down at his hands, just then realising that he was playing around with it.  
“Oh, it’s... Was...my dad’s. Uh, he died when I was younger, and when I into my junior year of high school, my mom gave it to me.”  
“Oh. Sorry.” Mark chuckled, looking at the sky.  
“No, it’s fine.”  
“I know, I just...didn’t know about that.”  
“Not many people do. It’s one of the only things I ever carry around that I care about.”  
“That’s good.” Mark sighed and looked to Jack again.  
“Hey, I... When I was waiting outside your dorm room, it was to apologise.” Jack furrowed his brows.  
“For what?”  
“For just... I don’t know, Barry wanted me to. It was kind of for treating you like shit even though you were bein’ nice to me.”  
“Oh, God, Mark, trust me, I’m way over that. I don’t blame you.” Mark scoffed.  
“How can you possibly not blame me?” Mark asked.  
“Because.” Mark sat up.  
“Because why?”  
“Just because!” Jack chuckled. “I don’t blame much of anyone for anything. People’ve got their reasons for bein’ mean or scared or whatever. That’s why I try to be nice. ‘Cause I might meet someone who treats me badly and maybe bein’ nice’ll make them happier.” Mark simply stared at Jack. “Ah, I’m ranting again. Why don’t you ever stop me from talkin’ so much?” Jack looked over at Mark and paused. “You alright?”  
“Um...,” Mark hummed nervously. He felt extremely vulnerable, and he wasn’t quite sure why. Something about whatever Jack had said struck an incredible nerve in him. He felt it now. Elation, motivation.  
“Mark, seriously, you look like you’ve seen a ghost or somethin’,” Jack said, then stopped. “Are you high?” Mark blinked and shook his head.  
“No, no, I’m...,” Mark said. “I haven’t even used that stuff I got from Dan.” Jack sat up a bit.  
“So...what’s wrong? You looked freaked out for a minute.” Mark smiled and laughed a bit. “What?”  
“Nothin’,” Mark said quietly, putting the lighter back in his pocket. He adjusted himself from where he was sitting so he was within touching distance of Jack as he looked back up at the sky, counting stars and looking for the Big Dipper.  
“Mark,” Jack said.  
“Hm?” Mark hummed back, trying to at least count to thirty.  
“I’ve got to tell you something.” Mark let out a quick, breathy chuckle.  
“What?”  
“Well, it’s a secret, so...,” Jack laughed. Mark looked over, ceasing his count and frowning a little.  
“You don’t have to whisper, it’s just us.” Jack grinned.  
“Yeah, well, that’s kind of the point of this, then.” Before Mark could react, Jack leaned to kiss him carefully. Mark was taken aback at the action, not quite sure what was happening.  
This kind of thing hadn’t happened in...far too long.  
As Jack pulled away when he realised he had gotten no response, Mark simply stared.  
“Sorry, sorry, I just...,” Jack stuttered out. “Y’know, I just thought...”  
“Hey, Jack,” Mark said. “I’ve got to tell you something.” Jack sighed.  
“What?”  
Without warning, Mark pulled Jack in for the next kiss, this time sure of what he was doing. He felt Jack respond, leaning into the touch, breathing out the breath he was holding, hands moving to attach to Mark instinctively.  
Mark’s hand moved to cup the nape of Jack’s neck, fingers grazing the hair above it, nails scratching the skin slightly. He brought them both to sit up carefully on the hood of his car, the radio still playing inside and out of the windows, reaching his ears once again.  
So this was what he was missing. Jack was what he wanted.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Vulnerable.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As a side-note, this is my absolute first time writing detail-y smut, so go easy on me. It's accurate in my mind, and realistic, I believe. Even though I've never had sex, but I took Health, so that has to count for something. I've read things before, I'm okay. Enjoy! xoxo

Before either truly knew it, they had gone to the back of Mark’s car, making out. Sloppy, but chaste and gentle. The backseat wasn’t small, but then again, it wasn’t gigantic. The trunk was connected and big enough for two people and a bike, and Mark thanked his lucky stars that there was a blanket and not a bike.  
The seats went down with a click of a button by Mark’s hand, making both of them yelp in surprise, Jack laughing out loud before being interrupted by Mark’s lips. Mark was straddling Jack easily, despite him being the shorter of the two. Jack was definitely more experienced than Mark expected, but nonetheless, it didn’t matter. None of it did.  
“Mm,” Jack hummed, pulling back a bit. Mark chuckled lowly and started down Jack’s neck. “Mark, you... You maybe want to...close the side door?” Mark sat up and looked behind him, letting out a slight gasp of surprise when he realised that anyone could hear them if they drove by, though chances were low this late at night. Jack laughed at him as Mark leaned to shut the door, then looked around for open windows, which there were none of.  
“Okay,” Mark breathed, looking back at Jack. “I think we’re good.” Jack laughed.  
“Yeah, yeah, c’mere.” Jack pulled him down for another kiss, filled with force and maybe a bit of passion, too.  
It was amazing how in a matter of minutes, Mark was being reduced to that of a lover, which he never thought he’d be capable of doing again. The last time he’d had sex was the time he decided he’d probably never have real sex again. Only one-night-stands. Drunk sex. Paid sex. Painful sex.  
Before Mark could even process the thoughts that ran through his mind, Jack was pushing off his jacket and Mark’s glasses fell to the floor of the backseat. Jack’s hands ran underneath the seams of Mark’s shirt, cold fingers making Mark’s stomach tingle, tickling just a bit. Mark forced himself to hold back laughter, and instead distracted himself with the texture of Jack’s lips, and then his tongue. Hints of coffee and sugar.  
Jack’s jacket was unzipped and discarded quickly to the side, Mark’s hands making quick work of pulling off his shirt, and then Jack doing the same to Mark. Skin against skin, heat radiating, the cold of the night unable to touch them. It was definitely passion that filled the air. Something Mark hadn’t felt in a long time.  
Unlike what Mark would usually expect, Jack slowed his kissing and kissed with more care than before, seemingly finding the texture of Mark’s lips, trying to discern the shape just by feel. Mark attempted to do the same, and found that Jack’s were soft and just a bit swollen from biting. Chapped, absolutely, but soft.  
As Mark’s jeans unbuttoned at the mercy of Jack’s hands, Mark finally realised just how he was feeling. Definite lust. Passion. Safety. Complete vulnerability. And complete desire for Jack and every inch of his body. Jack’s jeans were easily discarded after Mark’s, both laughing at the fact of how difficult skinny jeans proved to be during sex.  
Moans emitted from both, Mark’s hand easily travelling down to Jack’s boxers and slipping between him and the fabric. Jack moaned at simply the implication of what Mark was doing, his own hands rushing towards Mark’s erection quickly, rubbing it through fabric. Mark quickly rubbed at Jack’s in response, lips now clashing harshly onto Jack’s lips, feeling the heat from Jack’s body. Heavy breathing filled the backseat as Jack grasped at Mark, desperate to rid him of the cloth that seemed to be blocking his way.  
Mark simply rubbed Jack’s erection, aroused at just the noises Jack made from them. Moans and whimpers and sighs. The whimpers, he found, were his favourite. Surprising movements seemed to cause them. Jack, on the other hand, was at the complete mercy of Mark movements, unable to even try to touch Mark as he dropped his hands on either side of himself and moaned loudly into Mark’s mouth, his breathing quickening.  
Mark continued to rub Jack, finding the places where Jack gave the most response, the places that made Mark feel the most aroused.  
In an instant, Mark’s hand was warm and dripping, and Jack elicited the longest, most lust-filled moan he had made yet, Jack’s hands raising to keep Mark attached to his lips, letting himself go and melt into the climax of it all, whimpering slightly as it came down, and sighing when it was over.  
Regardless of what he was feeling, Jack reached and pulled Mark’s own boxers down and went to rub at Mark’s erection, Mark falling victim to the touch, hands removing themselves from Jack’s boxers and falling palm-down on either side of Jack’s body, keeping him stable above him as he relished in the moment, moaning out responses to the sections of him Jack’s fingers ran across, where his hand gripped and rubbed. Mark, in silence, was even more vulnerable than he was ten minutes ago. Jack’s touch was like silken sheets, soft and smooth.  
Mark sighed as Jack ran his hand across Mark, still finding the places that made Mark respond as Mark had done to him. In a moment, Jack’s hand ran across the spot, sensitive and small, and Mark moaned lowly into Jack, lowering slightly as his knees grew weak to the touch. Jack continued to rub at the spot, Mark’s arousal growing until he was sure he was there. Mark sighed and moaned as he felt himself reach climax, feeling Jack finish it off and then stop.  
Mark breathed heavily and kissed Jack chastely a few times, lowering himself as a tired feeling overtook him. He laid himself down next to Jack, eyes closed, trying to catch his breath from what must’ve been the best night he’s ever had in a long, long time. Jack turned slightly and, with a quick wipe of his hand on the carpet, threw his arm around Mark’s torso. Mark sighed and leaned into Jack’s touch easily, wiping his own hand subconsciously on the carpet. With his left hand, he grabbed the longer side of the blanket they were laying on and tossed it over both of their bodies, Jack settling into the crook of his arm.  
Mark refused to open his eyes. This was what he was missing. Music continued to play through the air from the radio in the front seat. Was he missing that vulnerability? No.  
But he knew that this kind of vulnerability was different than any other kind he knew.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Shutdown, back up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next one, we're getting closer to the end! xoxo

Mark opened his eyes slowly, blinking multiple times as the sunlight cascaded through the windows of his car. He sighed and rubbed his temples, going to move until he realised he was pinned down.  
Jack was completely attached to him, sleeping soundly and softly, hair tousled from moving through the night and lips pressed sideways onto Mark’s chest. His arm was holding Mark close, legs pressed against his own, skin against skin.  
Mark closed his eyes again, simply listening to the sounds around him. Jack and birds and cars.  
After about twenty minutes, he felt stirring to his right.  
“Mm,” a voice murmured.  
“Awake?” Mark asked quietly, earning a chuckle from Jack.  
“Mmhm,” he hummed, grinning into Mark’s skin. “Yeah, time’s it?” Mark groaned as his left hand searched for his jacket pocket, hand grabbing his phone and turning on the screen, seeing that it was nearly eight in the morning.  
“It’s about eight,” Mark said, dropping his phone and relaxing.  
“God, it’s early,” Jack whined, nudging his head further into Mark’s chest. “Go back t’ sleep.”  
“Can’t.”  
“Why not?” Mark chuckled.  
“Wouldn’t be able to listen to your voice.” Jack chuckled, adjusting so he could speak better.  
“Y’know, you’re a heavy sleeper.” Mark chuckled in response.  
“I am, am I?” Jack nodded where he was lain.  
“Yeah, you didn’t even wake up when I went to turn off the car. The music was still playin’.” Mark tensed up at the fact that he even forgot about that. “‘m a light sleeper, so I just went ‘n turned it off.”  
“Shit, I forgot about the car,” Mark said, running a hand down his face. Jack laughed and brought his hand up to play with Mark’s tousled hair. “Sorry, I just...”  
“No, it’s fine, Mark. We’re alright.” Mark closed his eyes, feeling Jack’s fingers play with the edges of his hair. “I had a nice night.” Mark sighed and a few moments passed. “What’s wrong?” Jack stopped and sat up to look at Mark momentarily, with a wonder as to why Mark wasn’t talking to him. “Mark, you’re cryin’, what’s wrong?” Mark opened his eyes and sniffed once.  
“Am I really crying right now?” he asked with a scoff and a fake grin. He wiped his tears down his face, covering his mouth, trying to figure out what in the hell he was feeling. He wasn’t really sure what it was, but for some reason, it made him cry.  
Vulnerability. That was part of it.  
“Mark, what’s wrong, why’re you cryin’?” Jack asked, worry lacing his voice. Mark sighed again through his hand as he sat up, pulling up his fallen down boxers and holding his head in his hands, leaning forward. Jack reached out to touch him, yet Mark didn’t respond. “Mark, please, you’ve got t’ tell me what’s wrong.” Mark sniffed once more and looked up, tears lacing his face and eyes. In an instant, Jack pulled him in for a hug, arms wrapped protectively around his torso. Mark simply laid his head on Jack’s shoulder, silent tears dripping onto the bare skin.  
“I just...,” Mark began, but didn’t finish when his voice cracked.  
“Hey, it’s alright,” Jack soothed quickly, holding him closer. “Just relax, alright? Just tears right now, nothin’ more.”  
The both of them simply sat there comfortingly, the sun rising a bit more, more cars passing by, tears subsiding with every second that passed. As soon as the tears stopped, Mark pulled back, eyes red and cheeks wet.  
“I’m...,” Mark said, rubbing his eyes. “Jack, I’m sorry.”  
“For what?” Jack asked, confused. “There’s nothin’ you did wrong.” Mark shook his head.  
“No, I’m just sorry, okay? I’m sorry I treated you like shit and then turned you down and then we came here and we just... And I can’t even wake up with you without fuckin’ it up.” Mark returned to hiding his face in his knees.  
“Mark, you’ve done nothin’ wrong, and I already said that all that was okay. ...Mark, look at me. Please?”  
“I just-”  
“Mark. Please, just look at me. Okay?” Mark looked up with fresh tears. “Look, nothin’ you did was you, okay? You... You turned me down and put me down for whatever reason, but, I mean... Last night, you weren’t...shut off from me, and I think... I think that’s more who you are. And not whatever you were when I met you.”  
“But that is me,” Mark said quietly, looking down. Jack shook his head.  
“Whoever ever gave you that idea?” Mark looked back up, an obvious look in his eyes. Jack stopped and shut his mouth. “Did... Who gave you that idea, Mark?” he asked again, with far more concern than Mark felt necessary. Mark shook his head. Jack nodded, trying to choose his next words carefully. “Well... Alright, you just... You tell me or not, it doesn’t matter t’ me. Just...don’t believe everything you hear.” Mark sighed. “I still had a nice time last night. It...You...were nice.” Mark grinned a bit at that, chuckling a bit.  
“Hey, Jack?” he said after a few long moments.  
“What?” Jack asked.  
“Thank you. For being here with me.” Jack chuckled.  
“You’re welcome.”  
Mark took a long time to come back to Barry, normally staying with Jack and getting clothes when Barry was at his classes. As soon as he made it back to his dorm room when Barry was there, he froze.  
“Mark,” Barry said, surprised to see him after almost two weeks. “You’re... Where’ve you been?” Mark blinked and scratched his cheek, his usual angst trying to surface, yet his softness had collided with it now.  
“Just...out,” Mark decided to say. Barry raised his eyebrows at the response.  
“For two weeks?” Mark nodded slowly, going over to his clothes and picking up enough for a couple nights. “Dan says you’re staying with Jack.” Mark stopped there.  
“Uh... Yeah,” Mark said, trying to speak quickly and end the conversation.  
“I just... I’m sorry. For yelling at you before. I know it’s probably old news by now, considering. But, I mean... I’m still sorry, alright?” Mark hadn’t moved from where he was.  
“Barry, I-”  
“Mark, I’m serious. I shouldn’t have pushed you. Whatever happened, that’s just...your business. So...” Barry shrugged.  
“Barry, I’m sorry for being a dick to you,” Mark managed to say as he turned around. “I just... I dropped you and then never tried to be friends with you again. So... I’m sorry. For whatever I did to you because of that. ‘Cause it’s pretty fuckin’ unfair.” Barry stared at him curiously, looking for the lie. For anything besides what he truly meant.  
And then Mark was hugged by his friend again, as if Mark had finally accepted a rescue. And in a way, he had. He assumed he survived a lot in his life. Far too much. More than he wanted to come back from. And it was really only then that he realised he should’ve accepted a rescue a long time ago.  
“Thank you,” Barry said, pulling away. “I’m just...glad to see you again. You, you. Not...whoever I saw before.”  
“Yeah, well, I’m glad I’m back.” Barry chuckled. “Um... It’s alright if I come back to sleep here, right?” Barry sucked air through his teeth comedically.  
“Ooh, I don’t know, Mark,” he said. “You going to bring back Jack for some late night shenanigans?” Mark pushed Barry away playfully. “Yeah, you go ahead and bring your stuff back here again if you want.” Mark smiled and nodded, putting his clothes back.  
“Better go tell Jack to keep an eye on you,” Mark joked. “He might get jealous.” Barry shook his head.  
“Only thing he has to be jealous of are my computer skills.” Mark laughed, turning back to the door. “Hey, Mark?”  
“What?” Mark replied, looking over.  
“You and Jack... You guys are together now?” Mark bit his lip. He and Jack hadn’t talked about it, but of course, they probably didn’t need to. He felt as if the question should’ve been, ‘How could you not be?’  
“Yeah, yeah, I... We are.” Barry grinned.  
“Good. You deserve him more than you think.” Mark let his smile falter for a moment at the words before he smiled wider.  
“Thanks, Barry.”  
As Mark made his way back to Jack’s room, he thought about what the hell he’d gotten himself into. Jack and motivation and happiness. Things he believed impossible before. Things he thought were no longer a goal he could reach.  
It felt possible to some extent now. Something he could do, or at least try to do. And try to do with Jack.  
“Mark,” Jack said when the door opened, “have you seen my tech book? I need it to study.” Jack looked back to Mark, who was simply just stood there. “Mark? You okay?” Mark nodded slowly, sitting down on Jack’s bed. “Where’re your clothes?” He shrugged.  
“Barry was there,” he answered simply. Jack paused for a moment before sitting next to him.  
“What, what happened, then? You talk to him?” Mark nodded.  
“Yeah, yeah, we... We’re okay now.” Jack nodded and wrapped an arm around Mark in a half-hug.  
“Good, good. Is he lettin’ you sleep there again?” Mark laughed, nodding. “I got to say, Dan’s pretty antsy to get back to his bed.” Mark rolled his eyes, nodding.  
“Yeah, he would, wouldn’t he?”


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Unfair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next one, and here's where everything goes. xoxo

An unfairness had settled into Mark’s life. An increasing, returning unfairness. Something he was bound to run back into.  
Pain.  
Increasing pain from far-gone pasts that should’ve ended years ago. Constant pain from fights and kicks and punches. Simple pain from the emotion that he became void of when he was there.  
“Jack, I’ve...,” Mark began, twiddling the lighter in his hand. “I’ve got to go out real quick.” Jack shrugged.  
“Yeah, uh...,” Jack hummed, chuckling. “Where to?” Mark shrugged.  
“Old friend, I... I guess.” Jack nodded, concentrating on his work at his desk.  
“Alright, alright. Text me whenever you’ll be back.” Mark nodded and left the room easily, closing the door on him. Jack looked back, wondering why there was a lack of a farewell, or maybe even a kiss. Wondering why Mark had been so quiet and stuttery when he had spoken.  
And he figured something had to have been wrong.  
“Hey, Barry,” Jack said when Barry answered the phone.  
“Yeah, what’s up?” Barry asked.  
“Um... Do you know if Mark has any old friends?” Barry clicked his tongue.  
“I...don’t know. Why?”  
“‘Cause he’s just left the room to go meet up with one.” Barry breathed in.  
“Did he say who?”  
“No, no, just said he was goin’ out.”  
“So what’re you worried about?” Jack sighed, leaning on his desk.  
“I don’t know. It was just...somethin’ about the way he said it, I guess. Kind of like he didn’t really want to go out.”  
“Um... I guess you have a right to worry, but don’t let it get in the way of whatever you’re doing. I mean, knowing Mark, he’s all cocky and everything, so if he ends up a certain way it’ll probably be because of that.” Jack rolled his eyes.  
“Thanks, Barry,” he said sarcastically. “You could’ve just told me that it’ll all be okay no matter what.”  
“What can I say? I’m against lying.” Jack rubbed his eyes. That had to be even worse than being told a lie.  
“Alright, well-”  
“Call me when he gets back to you?” Barry asked, a bit pleadingly. “I know you’re the one who’s with him, but...I worry. A lot. More than I should. Probably more than you are right now.” Jack laughed a little.  
“Yeah, sure. Thanks, Barry.”  
“No problem.” Jack hung up the phone without a goodbye, turning back to his work, yet he found he could barely focus. Whatever Mark was doing out there, he felt as if it wasn’t right. Not on his own doing, at least.  
The worst thing that happened that day was that his predictions came true.  
“Mark, hell, what happened to you?” Jack asked when he saw him walk through the door. Mark was holding his face, a bruise forming on his cheek and his lip bloody.  
“Nothin’, just...,” Mark but didn’t finish.  
“Where were you? I said you could text me how long you’d be out. It’s nearly ten.” Mark shook his head.  
“Just...caught up at the bar, I guess.” Jack shook his head, readying supplies to fix Mark’s face back up. As he dabbed at the lips, he couldn’t help but wonder just how they came to be.  
“Who did this to you, then?” Jack asked, going back and forth between water and lips.  
“Some guys at the bar,” Mark said, hissing at the burn. “Couldn’t stand to leave me be.” He chuckled emptily, blinking back whatever tears wanted to surface.  
“And...your friend? How were they?” Mark looked off the the side.  
“Fine, uh... Good, it...looks like he’ll be in town for awhile, so we can catch up.”  
“He? What’s his name?” Mark chuckled nervously.  
“Doesn’t matter. He...doesn’t like talking to new people much.” Jack laughed.  
“C’mon, I don’t have to meet him, but I can’t know his name?” Mark shrugged. Jack knew full well he was pushing Mark to be honest and unafraid, but this person, this man that Mark had gone to seen, shut him off. Exactly the opposite of what Jack seemed to do to him.  
“He...”  
“What about him? Hold on, here.” Jack handed him a bag of ice for his bruise.  
“He...told me not to tell you. He just... He’s really secretive. He wouldn’t tell me his name until a long time after we were...friends.” Jack stopped and stared at Mark. Was he being serious?  
“Mark, I’m...your boyfriend, don’t I get a right to know at least a name? It’s not like I’m jealous or anything.” Mark shook his head. “That’s ridiculous. Why shouldn’t I know his name?” Mark opened his mouth to respond with an answer that was completely true, but stopped at the mere thought of what truth could do to him. To Jack.  
“Look, can we just...not? Right now? I really don’t want to get into this.” Jack scoffed just a bit. “What?” He could hear the irritation rise up in Mark’s voice, and his own irritation and worry build in his mind.  
“I don’t want you to be gettin’ hurt at bars and such. I mean, did this ‘friend’ of yours even help you?”  
“No, he...left early. I just...went to the bar.” Jack looked around, spotting Mark’s wallet and a few bills on top.  
“All your money’s here, Mark. If he left early, how’d you buy anything?”  
“I didn’t! I just went, okay? I wanted to think.”  
“About what?”  
“God, can’t I just fucking do what I want every once in awhile?”  
“Can’t I worry? I mean, to me, you’re makin’ this guy out like he’s goin’ to kill you! What the hell am I supposed to do with- With a guy who I don’t know the name of ditching my boyfriend, and then you get wailed on at a bar? Huh? What am I supposed to take from that?”  
“Nothing, Jack! You’re supposed to take nothing from that! I’m not telling you anything about him, so why do you keep asking?”  
“Why are you hiding things from me?” The conversation had turned into a yelling argument, both sides trying to win over the other.  
“I don’t have to tell you anything!” Mark yelled over Jack’s incessant lecturing.  
“What d’you mean?” Jack yelled back. “You tell me almost everything!” Then he snapped. “Oh, wait, no, you don’t. I don’t know anything about you!”  
“You know everything about me!”  
“You never told me what happened to you! Even though we- We’ve had sex, I’ve talked to your mother, we go on dates, and- God damn, there’s plenty of shit I’ve done that gives me at least some fuckin’ right to know about your past!” Mark ran hands through his hair angrily, tired of this, tired of being pushed to the fucking brink.  
“I don’t need to tell you about my past!” Mark screamed at the top of his lungs. “You don’t want to fucking hear it! It’s a bunch of fucking bullshit! What the fuck gives you any right to know about it?”  
“Because I fucking love you, you fucking asshole! That’s why!” Jack approached Mark and gave him a shove. “How the fuck can you not see that?” Mark didn’t say anything back.  
All he did was walk out of the dorm and away from Jack, who stood there, heavy breathing as his eyes studied the door. Wondering if Mark was ever going to come back. Wondering if he’d said too much in too little time.  
Wondering if he fucked everything up in one single argument, and had decided the rest of his future in ten minutes.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Find him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's very, very slight violence in this one, but not so much that you'll turn your head and throw up. More like you'll scrunch up your face, probably, and frown in slight discomfort. xoxo

“Jack, have you seen Mark?” was Dan’s first question.  
“No,” Jack answered, souring at the thought of him. “Why?”  
“‘Cause Barry hasn’t seen him for a week.” Jack rubbed his eyes and laid down on his bed.  
“He’s probably with his stupid fuckin’ friend.” Dan furrowed his brows.  
“What... What friend?” Jack shrugged.  
“I don’t know, an old friend of his.”  
“Did...you guys fight or somethin’?” Jack nodded. “About what?”  
“Who fuckin’ knows? I mean, it was somethin’ about not tellin’ me about himself. And then I yelled at him and he left.”  
“What’d you say?”  
“That.” Dan sighed.  
“Look, I’m... I’m sorry you fought, Mark’s...a bastard when it comes to fighting, Barry says. But Barry’s worried as hell. He thinks Mark’s trying to avoid everyone.”  
“So? What’s that got to do with anything?” Dan sighed.  
“Um... Did Barry ever tell you about Mark in high school?” Jack chuckled sarcastically, sitting up again.  
“Yeah, right. Mark won’t even tell me where he used to go. I had to ask his mother what he was like.” Dan chuckled.  
“Um... Barry thinks Mark was in an abusive relationship his senior year.” Jack paused and looked at Barry.  
“And...”  
“And he thinks that Mark’s ‘old friend’ is Mark’s old boyfriend.” Jack’s mind had gone into shutdown.  
“Oh, my God,” Jack said, holding his head in his hands. “And I yelled at him...” He could feel slight tears well up in his eyes. “Oh, my God, he’s got to fuckin’ hate me right now.”  
Jack was a fucking idiot.  
“I just...,” Dan began, looking around. “I think we’ve got to find Mark. Wherever he is.” Jack shook his head.  
“I can’t believe he never fucking told me,” Jack said, trying not to cry as much as he wanted to. “I-I can’t believe I never... How could I not know this, I mean... I...”  
“You love him?” Jack looked at Dan with red eyes and trembling lips. “I could tell, and I think...if you do, then you should try to find him. We all should.”  
“Maybe you should be dating him,” Jack said with a small, sad chuckle. “You seem to know what to do.” Dan scoffed.  
“Trust me, I can only tell because Mark thinks the same thing.” Jack eyed him. “He... I haven’t known him for very long, but from what Barry’s told me, he...seems like he loves you, too. Somewhat, at least. And I think you should find him.” Jack wiped his cheeks and eyes, getting rid of tears even though new ones were forming.  
“He...works at a coffee shop,” Jack said quietly. “I remember, I found him closing up once and we went for a drive.” Dan blinked, shaking his head.  
“Wow. Barry didn’t even know that.”  
“God, how can I know him the least, yet no one knows about that but me?” Dan laughed a bit.  
“Because you love him, I guess.” Jack stood up and grabbed a jacket. “Where’re you goin’?”  
“To his work.”  
“What, right now?”  
“Yes, right now.” Jack wiped his eyes again, trying to put on a better, more presentable face.  
“Hold on, I’m goin’ to come with you.” Jack closed his eyes and nodded, walking out of his dorm with Dan, not bothering with the lock or the lights or anything. There were far more important things he had to think about.  
Mark was the most important thing he had to think about.  
“Here, I’ll drive us,” Dan said, leading them to his car and getting onto the road immediately. Jack pointed him in the correct direction, remembering vaguely what street the shop was on.  
“He’s still here,” Jack said, spotting Mark’s car. “C’mon.” Jack, filled with determination, walked through the front doors and searched the small crowds for Mark. When he didn’t spot him, he went to the front register.  
“How can I-” was all the cashier got out before Jack spoke.  
“Is Mark here?” he asked. “I’m... I’ve got to talk to him. Please.” The cashier nodded her head, catching the desperate tone in Jack’s voice.  
“Yeah, he’s in the back. Should I...get him?” Jack nodded.  
“Yeah, thanks.” The cashier moved to go to the back, someone taking her place. Jack and Dan both moved to the side to allow people to order their drinks, waiting impatiently, hoping they weren’t too late to get him out of this. Even hoping that Barry was wrong and that Mark wasn’t seeing whatever fucking asshole he had been with before. That he really was simply ignoring everyone. In Jack’s mind, Mark ignoring him was better than Mark getting hurt.  
“What?” a voice came from the back, faint and confused. “Who?”  
“Just some guys,” the cashier responded. They revealed themselves and the cashier pointed Jack and Dan out. Mark looked at them, then shook his head. Jack could barely make out Mark’s claim to not know them when Jack yelled.  
“Mark!” he called. Mark shook his head and went back into the room. The cashier watched it happen, not even stopping Mark from leaving. “Fuck’s sake.” Jack nearly went to push through the staff, but the window showed him walking to his car. “Dan, he’s leaving.”  
Jack ran out of the shop, taking full speed towards Mark’s car, which was on the brink of driving away. Dan was on his tail.  
“Mark, stop!” Dan yelled after him behind Jack.  
“Mark, don’t go back!” Jack yelled louder over Mark’s engine. “Don’t...” Jack’s voice went unheard as Mark pulled out of the lot and into the street, where he took off. “Dan, we... We lost him-”  
“We have to follow him,” Dan said, cutting Jack off and running back to his car. Jack followed, still worried and nearly brokenhearted, the sight of Mark running from him ingrained into his head like a never-ending movie clip.  
“He...,” Jack began, trying to form words. “He went left.” Dan nodded and pulled out into the street, turning left.  
They both cruised for about twenty minutes, searching the streets for Mark’s car and, hopefully, Mark. The amount of edge Jack was on didn’t even start to describe how scared he was. How late he was afraid he was. How incredibly terrified that Mark wasn’t going to survive the rest of his life.  
How much more terrifying that he wouldn’t even survive today.  
“There,” Jack said, spotting Mark’s car.  
“We’ve been on this street!” Dan scolded.  
“Well, I must’ve missed it! Just park!” Despite the annoyance, it didn’t last long as Jack jumped from the car. “Which house?” Dan rubbed his temples and shook his head. In an instant, Jack knocked on every house in the vicinity of the car, apologising to each wrong choice.  
“Maybe it’s the next street, Jack,” Dan said after the tenth house, sounding tired. Jack ignored him, knocking on the next door.  
“Maybe it’s this one,” Jack breathed.  
“Answer the door!” a yell emanated from inside. Footsteps shuffled and the door opened.  
“Hello?” a familiar voice asked, then stopped.  
“Mark,” Jack said. “Mark, we fou-”  
“Who is it?” the other voice called.  
“Uh...,” Mark hummed nervously. “N-No one!” The voice responded.  
“What d’you mean, no one?” More footsteps followed, and as much as Mark tried to close the door, Jack’s foot was wedged between the doorway and the door.  
As the door opened, a man revealed himself to Jack and Dan.  
“Hey,” he grinned, which seemed so incredibly fake at first glance. “Can I help you?” The man was tall, leaning against the doorway above Mark, as if trapping him in place. His hair was blonde and brushed back, his clothes clung tightly to his body.  
“Yeah, can I talk to Mark?” Jack asked.  
“Both of you? Why?” Suspicion laced the man’s voice, then he looked at Mark. “You know them?” Mark almost nodded, Jack saw.  
“No, not really,” Mark said quietly, shaking his head.  
“Well, then, I guess he can’t talk to you,” the man said. He went to close the door, but Jack held it open. “Hey, the hell is your deal?”  
“Me?” Jack widened his eyes. “My deal? What the fuck is your deal, you bitch?” At that, the door slammed open and the man pushed Jack back.  
“We goin’ to have a fuckin’ problem, or what?” he asked harshly. Jack threw the man’s hands away from him.  
“Leave Mark alone!” Jack yelled. “I should have every damn right to call the cops, shouldn’t I? I know what you fuckin’ did to him!”  
“The fuck do you know? Who even are you?”  
“I love him, that’s what! Now leave him alone!” Jack eyed Mark out of the corner of his eye.  
“Oh, you love him, do you? I’ll fuckin’ show you how much he loves you.” In a flash, the man’s fist came across Jack’s jaw, knocking him to the ground. Jack flinched and held his face, contorting into himself protectively. The man stepped above and kicked him. “The fuck do you know about him, huh?” he said. “Fuck you, man!”  
“Fuck you,” Jack managed to say in the fit of anger that still surged through him, despite how much he felt he couldn’t move. The man kicked him again, scoffing.  
And then was pushed back by another person. Dan. Even though he didn’t stand much of a chance, Dan still managed to get him away from Jack long enough for Jack to stand up and glance over at Mark. Dan was easily kneed in the stomach and taken down.  
“God, what the fuck is with you two?” the man yelled. Jack simply stepped away from the man, looking at the house again, where Mark was still standing, watching everything. Jack couldn’t blame him for his choice to stay away. He would’ve done the same, no matter how guilty he might’ve felt.  
“What the fuck is wrong with you?” Jack yelled, eyeing Dan, who was recovering from his beating reaching into his pockets.  
“With me?” the man yelled back. “What about you, you fucking asshole?”  
“You’re a psychopath!” The man stood there, processing his words, and then made his way to Jack and punched the side of his head.  
The only think Jack could hear was yelling before he passed out.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's run out. I don't need it anymore now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are at the finale! Read at your own will! xoxo

As Jack woke up, he winced at the pain he was in. Beeping was to his right, talking to his left, music in front of him. There was far too much to concentrate on, but eventually, his eyes adjusted to the lights above him. He was in a hospital ward.  
“What?” was all he said that paused the voices.  
“Jack, you’re awake,” a voice said.  
“Who?” He furrowed his brows until he realised his name was Jack. “Oh, right.” Then he stopped. “Wait.”  
“What?”  
“Who’re you?” Jack couldn’t move his head, as every time he did, his head hurt and jaw clicked slightly, soreness all over. “Why does my jaw hurt?”  
“Jack, it’s Dan.” Jack waited until the face that was seemingly familiar came into view.  
“Dan...,” Jack said, sounding out the name. “You...”  
“From...college.” Jack blinked.  
“Right... And Barry.” Dan nodded, a look of relief on his face. “Where’s...” Jack furrowed his brows, trying to figure out his thought process.  
“Mark?” Jack blinked again, nodding ever-so-slightly. “He’s...talking to someone.” Jack groaned as the pain in his jaw suddenly came back full force.  
“Oh, how long’ve I been here?” he asked wearily.  
“Um... About three hours, I guess?”  
“What happened?” Dan sat down at the edge of the hospital bed, explaining what had happened. Near the end, Jack nodded slightly, the events returning to his memory.  
“Yeah, so...,” Dan said. “The doctor said you got a concussion. Not bad enough for a coma, but he said it’d take a bit for you to get some recent stuff back.”  
“Yeah, yeah, whatever. ‘s Mark okay?” Dan nodded. “What ‘bout...”  
“The guy? Arrested.”  
“‘nd you?” Dan shrugged.  
“I got some ice for my stomach, but that’s all.” He raised his shirt to show off a small bruise across his abdomen.  
“Fuck, ‘m sorry,” Jack said, closing his eyes. Dan dropped his shirt. “Thanks for callin’ the cops ‘nd all.”  
“Well, that guy was busy with you, and...I figured I had time enough.” Jack laughed and Dan joined.  
“Ah, yeah, ‘m glad you didn’t jus’ stand there.”  
“Yeah, so am I.” At this, a nurse walked in and Dan left the bed to sit down as he checked Jack’s blood pressure and asked him his pain levels out of ten, putting more ice on his jaw, handing some to Dan as well for his stomach.  
“Your other friend’ll be back in a little bit,” the nurse said, putting his clipboard underneath his arm. “He’s just with the other doctor.”  
“Doin’ what?” Jack asked, eyeing the nurse from the corner of his eye.  
“Couldn’t say. It’d be up to him to tell you. I’ll be back in an hour to check again.” The nurse left and it went silent in the ward.  
“You think he’s okay?” Jack asked Dan.  
“Yeah, he’ll be fine,” Dan assured, sighing. “Better when he sees you’re awake.” Jack grinned a little.  
After about thirty minutes of silence and watching the television in front of him, the door opened.  
“Right there,” someone said, and then the door closed. And Mark came into Jack’s view.  
“Mark, thank Christ,” Jack said, raising his arms to pull Mark towards him. “Thought you weren’t goin’ to come in.”  
“Well, they said you were awake, so...,” Mark replied with a small smile. As he pulled away, he looked at Jack’s jaw. “Fuck, Jack, I’m sorry.” Tears welled up in his eyes at what he believed his life had done to Jack. What he felt responsible for.  
“No, ‘s okay,” Jack said, shaking his head as much as he could. “‘s long ‘s you’re okay.” Mark shook his head.  
“No, no, no, it’s my fault you got hurt, alright?” he began. “If I hadn’t fucked up and just ran away, you-”  
“Mark, trust me,” Jack interrupted him, “I would’ve killed th’ man if I could.” Mark chuckled.  
“Yeah, he... He’s been in jail before.”  
“He has?” Mark nodded.  
“He got out and then...wanted me back again. I knew he’d try to get rid of you, so I just went. Tried to make excuses to just not be there, though. So I could see you.” Jack sighed. “I usually told him it was work, and then I just came back to you.” Mark watched as Jack yawned, wincing at his jaw.  
“God, what’re they puttin’ in me?” he asked after a few moments, looking to his right. “‘m sleepy ‘s fuck.”  
“I think they gave you something to numb your jaw and everything,” Dan said. “And they had to do something to help your concussion, too.” Jack hummed, blinking long.  
“How about you just go to sleep?” Mark said, stepping away.  
“You goin’ to be here when I wake up?” Jack asked, drowsiness coming to him.  
“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be here. I’ll tell you everything when you wake up again.” Jack nodded and closed his eyes, simply falling asleep with his hand in Mark’s.  
A few more days passed before Jack could be allowed out of the hospital, on his own request. They told him he could stay until they were sure the concussion was gone, but he said he wanted to go back to the college and recover there. They gave him his admission papers and he left with Mark, as Dan had already gone to Barry to break better news than before.  
“You alright?” Mark asked as he started the car. Jack shrugged and relaxed in his seat.  
“Yeah,” he said after a few long moments.  
“And you really want to go back already?”  
“You think I want to spend a month in the hospital?” Jack laughed a bit and sat up. “No, I’d rather spend time with you without supervision.”  
“Remember what happened last time?” Jack chuckled, knowing Mark was talking about the beach.  
“Yeah, that was fun.” Mark laughed as they made their way back to the college. “We should do that again.”  
“Yeah, maybe after you don’t have a concussion anymore, sure.” Jack sighed and listened to the radio that Mark had turned on.  
“Hey, I know this song,” Jack said, humming along. He looked around the car, then spotted something on the floor. “Mark, your lighter’s on the floor.” He leaned to pick it up.  
“Does it still work?” Mark asked, looking over as he stopped at a stoplight. Jack flicked it a few times, trying to get a flame to ignite. Jack frowned and looked it over.  
“Guess it ran out of fluid,” he concluded. Mark didn’t say anything for a moment.  
“Put it in the glove box,” Mark told him. Jack looked over.  
“You don’t want to hold onto it? Get more fluid?” Mark shook his head.  
“No, it’s... It’s fine. I don’t need it.” Jack put it into the glove box as he was told to, shutting it.  
“Well, your dad’ll be upset you didn’t get it fixed,” Jack said, and Mark laughed.  
“Actually, I think he’d be pretty damn proud.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd like to thank all who made it to the end (and through that smut if you read it, that's real dedication, thank you). I worked on this probably even longer than I worked on Safety, Jealousy, Pain. I got a lot of motivation from that and from watching Good Will Hunting. Wonderful movie, I recommend it for psychology nerds. It's on Netflix. And I am a psychology nerd, so I feel a lot of my long-chapter stories will be centred on psychologically-centred feelings. Or something like that.  
> Anyways, thank you all for reading, loves! xoxo


End file.
